It’s well documented that Assassin’s Creed Mirage is a considerably smaller adventure compared to the previous 3 entries in the series, but just how long is it? Here we’ll let you know exactly how many hours it took different members of the IGN team to finish the story, and what they prioritised doing with their time.
How long is Assassin’s Creed Mirage?
Our fastest player finished it in 10 hours.
Our “slowest” player played for almost 17 hours before credits rolled.
Everyone plays games differently, so read on for more details about how everyone played, how long it took to reach the credits, and how much extra time players spent exploring the world. Once you’ve finished the game yourself, be sure to submit your times on How Long To Beat and see how your time compares!
Dale Driver – Executive Producer of Video
I feel like I took my time with the main story of Assassin’s Creed Mirage, clocking in 15 hours and 49 minutes before the credits rolled. Although I left a large amount of the side content to explore, I did make sure to try out enough of it so I felt like I got the full experience of everything the game had to offer.
As expected, upon story completion the game kicks you back into Baghdad to continue to exploring, and with most regions only 50% complete, I decided to do just that. I mopped up every outstanding contract I could fine, collected all the shards, artifacts and historical sites and ended up pinging the very easy and obtainable platinum trophy in a breezy 23 hours and 27 minutes. Considering the same feat in Valhalla took me over 100 hours, Ubisoft definitely weren’t lying when they said this was a much shorter Assassin’s Creed!
Matt Purslow – News and Features Editor
After sinking over 120 hours into Valhalla just a couple of years ago, I wasn’t up for 100 percenting another Assassin’s Creed game just yet. So for Mirage, I focused mostly on the main questline, which is made up of five core investigations. The credits rolled after 16 hours and 47 minutes, and I was left reasonably happy with this quick-hit of old-school stealth.
Across those almost 17 hours, I played the main missions at a steady pace, being as sneaky as possible. You could definitely speed through the campaign if you were less interested in stealth than I am, but that would likely mean you’d have to contend with Mirage’s dreadful sword combat, which I don’t recommend. Beyond the main missions I also did a little resource gathering to earn some bonuses, such as all the mysterious shards that unlock a trio of special Isu items. I also did four or five contracts, but these side missions are pretty basic and didn’t hold my interest. Overall, then, this was a pretty straightforward playthrough that I had done and dusted over a long weekend.
Jesse Gomez – UK Video Producer
Even at the best of times, I wasn’t finding Mirage entirely enjoyable, but because I was curious to see how the story played out I sought to complete the latest Assassin’s Creed in the quickest time possible and achieved a time of 10 hours and 52 minutes. I focused entirely on the main story, ignoring all contracts, extra upgrades, and spending little to no time when it came to gathering resources. I likely could’ve sped things even further up by synchronizing a few more viewpoints and opening up some more fast travel opportunities, but even that didn’t feel necessary with the map being so small.
With all that said, Mirage was an incredibly easy 10 hours to play through, and despite the game encouraging me to take the stealth route, most of the time it was just easier to blast in, headfirst with sword in hand and cut everything down. In hindsight I wouldn’t recommend playing the game at this speed, especially if you’re enjoying everything Mirage has to offer, but if you’re just focused on the story you can quite easily finish it in under 11 hours.
If you want to see how Assassin’s Creed Mirage stacks up in length to the previous games in the series, check out our complete Playlist of Assassin’s Creed games. You can sort it by HLTB playtime, rating, and release date. And you can of course make your own lists and rankings, too. And if you need a little help with anything in Mirage, be sure to check out our Assassin’s Creed Mirage guides.
Sitting on the grid in my 2017 Holden V8 Supercar, surrounded by Lamborghinis, Ferraris, and Audi R8s, I have to concede I’m feeling a little underqualified. Forza Motorsport’s online multiplayer spec racing should technically place all these cars on a level field, but I can’t help but feel like I’ve brought a cricket bat to a swordfight here. Several mediocre laps later and neither myself or my Vegemite-eating VF Commodore have troubled the timesheets much, finishing mid-pack one spot below where I started – but I’m sweating, and I’m smiling. The 2023 version of Forza Motorsport is brimming with new features across the board, from its muscular new multiplayer to its much-improved handling. All except for its upgrades, that is. They’ve been downgraded. Confused? Me too.
Forza Motorsport is, by a significant margin, the best feeling game in the Motorsport franchise to date. It isn’t necessarily a total reinvention of the Forza formula, and it still has that familiar level of forgiveness baked into it when you’re at and justbeyond the limits of control. This is a series that has always been about letting us have the confidence to grab a car by the scruff of its neck and step the rear end out with a boot-full of throttle without constantly over-rotating, and that’s absolutely still the case here. The improvements before we break traction, however, are marked.
If the previous game, Forza Motorsport 7, has any noticeable handling blemishes, it’d be that there’s often a lack of bite to the feeling of grip. Six years later, that’s totally gone here in this follow-up. The feeling of grip in Forza Motorsport is far more pronounced and authentic, and cars feel more realistically rooted to the road than they ever have previously. Push beyond the capacity of your tyres and grip will now taper away instead of falling off a cliff, meaning cars squirm more and skate less – which is a great improvement.
Push beyond the capacity of your tyres and grip will now taper away instead of falling off a cliff.
The pleasing side-effect of these terrific tyre modelling improvements goes beyond making racing feel more accurate; it also actually makes it feel easier to drive fast. ‘Easy’ is too often used as a pejorative in a gaming context but, with respect to those who can’t feel feelings until they’re being flayed alive by a FromSoft game, in racing terms I can assure you it’s not a contemptuous concept. Lapping as fast as the pros, millimetre perfect and at maximum attack? No, that’s not simple – if it was, we’d all have yachts in Monaco by now. But hustling around a track quick and hard, confident the car beneath you is going to behave as it should? That’s well within the means of a competent driver. The old sim racing mentality that “if it’s not difficult, it’s not realistic” is something that most good driving simulators have been moving away from for some time, and Forza Motorsport is no exception. It’s easier because it’s more authentic.
Gamepad handling is extremely well-refined. While it’s hardly a surprise considering good gamepad handling has always been a staple of this long-running series, I’m happy to report it remains top-notch and has survived the physics updates beneath the surface. As usual, the team at Turn 10 has struck a terrific balance between softening things like rapid weight transfer and certain steering inputs to keep the handling tameable on a tiny analogue stick, but still demanding an indisputable deftness to drive consistently fast.
On a wheel, my experience is limited to the Thrustmaster TS-XW Racer – but it definitely errs extremely heavy out of the box.
On a wheel, my experience is limited to the Thrustmaster TS-XW Racer – but it definitely errs extremely heavy out of the box. Surprisingly so, in fact. The last time my actual car felt this heavy to pilot it was because my alternator failed and killed my power steering. It is, however, extremely tuneable – so I was able to eventually dial that aggressive heaviness out and enjoy what I otherwise consider the best Forza Motorsport wheel feel I’ve ever experienced. There might be a slight numbness to severe kerbs, but the responsiveness and stability is excellent.
The feeling of car weight is also great – especially on undulating and technical track sections like cresting over the rise at Laguna Seca before slamming down through the corkscrew. There are some small, welcome touches for wheel users, too. Those who play in cabin-view with the wheel visible may be happy to see the steering animation is no longer locked to just 90 degrees in either direction. The on-screen wheel now rotates up to 360 degrees, which is far more realistic. There are also car-specific force feedback and steering lock settings in the tuning menus, making it easier to keep cars feeling right without constantly re-adjusting the global settings.
Level: May Cry
There’s more good news on tuning, including a new layer of suspension settings as well as the ability to add ballast. Adding ballast obviously increases car weight and lowers its performance index overall, but it is automatically distributed throughout the car to bring it closer to a perfect 50/50 weight distribution. It’s impossible to instantly gauge the impact the addition of ballast will have on competitive car builds, but it will be interesting to watch and experiment to see whether pushing a car over the limit before handicapping it with extra weight is a viable strategy on certain tracks.
Unfortunately, that’s currently where the positive news on tuning – or perhaps more specifically, customisation – largely stops. That’s because upgrades are no longer all immediately available for any car by default, like they are in Forza Motorsport 7 or Forza Horizon 5. Instead, they’re frugally rationed out for each car as you spend seat time in them and earn experience for that specific vehicle. They’re also no longer purchased with credits, either; rather, each car will have a set amount of ‘Car Points’ that applying upgrades eats away at. The amount of Car Points you have per car will be determined by each car’s individual level, which tops out at 50. Upgrades are always made available in the same order, but it takes several hours of driving to unlock things like engine swaps (40), body kits (45), and drivetrain swaps (50).
It takes several hours of driving to unlock things like engine swaps, body kits, and drivetrain swaps.
By design, this overtly RPG-style approach is meant to encourage us to form more profound connections with a narrower assortment of cars that mean something to us personally instead of bouncing around. In practice, however, it’s just a bit bothersome. Sure, it never feels as trivial as, say, the luck-based upgrade systems under the hood of arcade racers like The Crew series or Need for Speed Payback; we’re still in control of the parts we choose to “purchase” and fit. And sure, at car level 50 with the full range of parts available, the upgrade system in Forza Motorsport is essentially the same as it’s been for generations. The problem is getting there is now an unexpected treadmill, for every individual car (including duplicates of the same car).
I do appreciate Forza Motorsport’s “built, not bought” philosophy, but the new layer of gamification here isn’t really for me. It’s not so much the Car Point system itself – I actually think there’s a decent amount of merit in some kind of system that’s perhaps roughly analogous to time sunk. Anyone who’s ever spent time wrenching on a car will know that you can’t do everything at once, and Car Points do mean you have to slowly add and swap parts over time – just like in real-life. What I don’t really get is the concept of gating away upgrades in a strict order – especially the super straightforward ones. Why do we really need a certain car level before we can yank out the spare wheel to shave some kilos? It definitely dilutes the previous freedom we had to focus on the upgrades we predict would make the most meaningful difference to a car’s performance from the outset, and it’s all bit silly that I’m measuring fuel loads by the millilitre to slice bonus thousandths of a second off my lap times when I’m still lugging around a spare tyre in the boot.
Fortunately, you will earn car levels anywhere you use them… so you’re never spinning your wheels on progression as long as you’re driving.
Fortunately, you will earn car levels anywhere you use them, whether that’s career mode, free play, or multiplayer, so you’re never spinning your wheels on progression as long as you’re driving. The career mode is made up of several tiers of themed racing events that are otherwise fairly typically categorised by car class for this type of racing sim. With compulsory practice sessions ahead of each race it takes quite a while to move through each tour, so I’ve been busy for a while and will continue to be for some time. The ability to select your specific place on the grid before each event may seem like a peculiar replacement for qualifying, but it does mean that you can have the exact racing experience you want each race.
That is, if you want the old-school, Gran Turismo-style experience that’s more like an overtaking challenge than a race – where you’ll need to thread your car all the way to the front from the back of the pack in just a few laps – go for it. If you’re interested in faster AI and dogfighting all race for a single spot, that’s also possible. It’s a smart touch, and it’s a more robust single-player racing experience than the likes of GT7 as a result.
That said, I have found the event intros are a little overblown; there’s a hushed reverence to them that car manufacturers probably love, but they’re pretty stiff and starchy compared with the more casual automotive culture shows I stream or watch on YouTube these days. There are also a few car categories that don’t seem to really get much of a run in the career mode, but I would expect the career mode to grow as this Forza Motorsport platform evolves. In the meantime, free play is still here – where you can do quick races in any of the 500 available cars – but again I’d really love some simple options to better curate what the AI drives against me. There are so many specific fields to edit to narrow down your opponent’s cars, but it’s all but impossible to get the 23 specific rival cars you want. Often it just ignores my custom settings entirely. Just let us place the AI in cars we choose, like Forza Motorsport 4 did.
Dude, Where’s My Car?
Forza Motorsport’s 500-car roster is slimmer than Forza Motorsport 7 and Forza Horizon 5 – both of which feature over 700 apiece – and, yes, there are probably conversations to be had. For instance, there’s been pruning when it comes to offroaders, and hot pick-ups like the GMC Syclone and the HSV Maloo appear to have been collateral damage. Lancia is MIA despite making a welcome return to Horizon 5 just last month. You could pick at the seams for some time. However, to be quite fair, Forza Motorsport does achieve this 500-car figure without the cheeky level of double, triple, and sometimes quadruple dipping some of its rivals do when it comes to counting certain models multiple times due to different paint jobs. It really still is an enviable roster of rides, all of which bark and crackle brilliantly thanks to some serious strides with the sound. Better still,there’s no shortcut to buy them with obscene amounts of real-world money: pay attention, Gran Turismo 7.
Forza Motorsport does achieve this 500-car figure without the cheeky level of double, triple, and sometimes quadruple dipping some of its rivals do when it comes to counting certain models multiple times due to different paint jobs.
They also look sharp and marvellous in motion. I played largely in Performance RT mode on Xbox Series X, which adds ray-traced reflections of other cars and nearby objects to the glossy surfaces of your vehicle at the cost of resolution (but not frame-rate, which never budged from 60fps). That said, I’ve probably missed out on a good portion of the visual feast here since I don’t typically play the Motorsport games in chase cam. If you favour 4K above all else, Performance mode drops ray-tracing during racing (and still runs at a resolute 60fps). A third mode packs in additional ray-tracing on other environmental objects but runs at 30fps. But hey, don’t scoff: so does Driveclub, and look how well the aesthetics of that have stood the test of time, even a decade later! It ultimately may come down to personal preference, and I don’t know whether overall Forza Motorsport quite has the measure of GT7, but damned if it doesn’t look particularly spectacular at midnight under heavy rain.
Each of Forza Motorsport’s 20 track locations features support for dynamic time-of-day and variable weather, and they definitely have been dressed with more detail than ever before, with 3D crowds and more trackside objects and fixtures. It is a slimmer selection than the 30+ locations we had in Forza Motorsport 7, although it has been confirmed further tracks will be injected in the future for free. Yas Marina is coming back next month, another unannounced track will follow in December, and the famous Nurburgring Nordschleife will reportedly be ready by spring in the northern hemisphere, 2024. Still, no Bathurst right now? That Bath-hurts.
No Bathurst right now? That Bath-hurts.
Equally painful is the lack of two-player splitscreen, which is a mode my kids and I have traditionally had a massive soft spot for. They particularly love zany handicap races, like giving away massive head starts to ancient hatchbacks and then chasing them down in hypercars – which is precisely the kind of experimentation that sandbox racers with garages as exhaustively broad as Forza Motorsport is usually brilliant for. I presume splitscreen is simply a niche mode in 2023 and it probably comes at too high a performance cost on the Series S, but it really is a little gloomy whenever gaming seems to go backwards. Hell, Gran Turismo had splitscreen in 1997!
The trade-off here is a massively improved online multiplayer component, with scheduled racing events packaged up as full race weekends, with a practice session, a three-lap qualifying blast, and a race. There’s spec racing, where all the cars are automatically tuned identically by Turn 10 for an even playing field, and open racing where you take your own builds. I’ve been playing the Touring Car and GT spec racing series over the past week and it’s been extremely robust and reliable, especially considering the pools of players I’ve been racing have largely been developers and other press located on the other side of Earth’s largest ocean. It’s a little hard to predict just how civilised it’ll remain after launch, but the safety rating should hopefully keep dirty racers away from clean ones. I also don’t think I’ve been on the receiving end of enough bad collisions to gauge just how effective the improved penalties are in actually disciplining the right players effectively, but I’ve had mostly great, clean races so far.
Perhaps my favourite new touch from the multiplayer, though? The ability to skip to the end of a lap in the pre-race sessions (or when attacking times in the asynchronous Rivals mode). Messed up a corner? The Skip Lap option will respawn you on a flyer, just a few corners from the start line. It’s such a clever time saver.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage, the 13th major installment in Ubisoft’s franchise, is nearly upon us.
Mirage will debut on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S, and PC on Oct. 5, a full week earlier than originally planned. But these days, it can be tough to figure out what that means exactly in terms of when you’ll be able to start playing. Luckily, Ubisoft has detailed the global release times for both PC and console, which vary by an hour or so in most regions.
For the most part, you’ll be able to start playing in the wee hours of Friday, Oct. 5, with a few regions getting a jumpstart on PC late on Thursday. Mirage is already available for pre-loading.
You can see the various release times in their graphic, and we’ve also broken it down below.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage is also getting a release on the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Max Pro sometime in the first half of 2024, although we’re still waiting for an exact release date on that.
In the meantime, Ubisoft is asking fans to not release spoilers as that release date quickly approaches. Mirage follows Basim Ibn Ishaq, a character introduced in 2020’s Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, and has been hailed as a return to the series’ roots, with a focus on stealth and linear storytelling.
Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she’s not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.
Boomerang X developer Dang! has announced that the studio is closing its doors due to being unable to secure funding for its next game.
“Dang is closing up shop. Unfortunately, we were not able to find funding for our next game and we are out of money,” the studio said in a statement written on the desktop Notepad app. “We’re not writing off the possibility of working on some small stuff together in the future but for now we’re all going our separate ways. Thanks to all the love you’ve shown to us over the years and thanks for playing Boomerang X.”
While the studio joked that it was rather unserious about its closure announcement by not making a professional-looking one with a logo, it assured that the news wasn’t a joke. The studio also mentioned that it considered crowdfunding, but said that the approach didn’t make sense for the situation. Furthermore, Boomerang X will not be taken off any storefronts and will still be available for sale.
Many studios have shut down this year, such as Saints Row developer Volition, due to restructuring. However, Dang’s situation wasn’t the result of mass layoffs. Studios like Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew developer Mimimi Games have voluntarily closed due to a variety of factors, like wanting to prioritize developer well-being.
Boomerang X was released on July 8, 2021 for PC and Nintendo Switch. In IGN’s Boomerang X review, we said, “Exciting combat, fantastic art direction, and interesting environments only make me wish Boomerang X were twice as long.”
George Yang is a freelance writer for IGN. He’s been writing about the industry since 2019 and has worked with other publications such as Insider, Kotaku, NPR, and Variety.
When not writing about video games, George is playing video games. What a surprise! You can follow him on Twitter @Yinyangfooey
Square Enix has officially revealed how to correctly pronounce the name of a Final Fantasy VII character. After years of debate on the internet, we finally have confirmation of how to say Cait Sith.
Cait Sith is, of course, a feline character that rides a large stuffed toy in Final Fantasy VII. Square Enix confirmed in a post on X/Twitter today that, at least in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Cait Sith is pronounced like “Kate Sihth.” Basically, the name is pronounced how it’s read on paper. Square Enix said, “We saw many of you were asking so we hope this helps!”
The debate on how to correctly pronounce Cait Sith’s name has been going on for a while now – if you want to be exact, basically dating back to 1997 when Final Fantasy VII was first released.
Back in 2008, a few users on GameFaqs noted that the name comes from the Gaelic language, theorizing the name would be pronounced closer to its Celtic origins, something like “Ket Shee.” However, it seems like Square Enix has taken a different approach to the name and is pronouncing it closer to how it’s actually spelled in the English language.
While Cait Sith has had English voice actors in past media, such as Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children and Dirge of Cerberus, it seems like the name “Cait Sith” was never actually said by any character. We’ve reached out to Square Enix to confirm that this is indeed the first official confirmation, although by all accounts, it is.
Cait Sith will also be a playable party member in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth when it launches on Feb. 29, 2024 for PlayStation 5.
In IGN’s Final Fantasy VII Rebirth preview, we said, “Story-wise, Rebirth again feels very familiar, and yet also different. This is due in part to the tremendous difference in scale and presentation – here, like with Remake, areas that were previously sparse or bare are expanded out into lush zones to explore. But there are also little changes that are mostly inconsequential, but they still play out in different ways than fans of the original FF7 are used to.”
George Yang is a freelance writer for IGN. He’s been writing about the industry since 2019 and has worked with other publications such as Insider, Kotaku, NPR, and Variety.
When not writing about video games, George is playing video games. What a surprise! You can follow him on Twitter @Yinyangfooey
Microsoft has revealed a sexy Gold Shadow special edition Xbox Wireless Controller, reminiscent of the Shadow range released for the Xbox One.
Revealed on the Xbox Store, the controller features a base gold colour that gradually fades into metallic black and is available October 17 for $69.99 / £64.99.
This is the first Shadow controller released since 2017 and the first under the new Xbox Series design, which has the improved directional pad, dedicated share button, and more.
The popular line for Xbox One began with Copper Shadow before Microsoft also released Dusk Shadow (blue), Dawn Shadow (pink), Ocean Shadow (inverted blue), and Volcano Shadow (red). This is therefore the first Gold Shadow controller period.
Outside of wild special and incredibly limited edition controllers, like fluffy Sonic the Hedgehog ones or one made from actual Jade, Microsoft has mostly stuck to more traditional solid colour gamepads in the Xbox Series era.
Activision has released a first proper look at Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3’s multiplayer, leaning heavily on nostalgia for classic maps and mechanics.
Veteran fans of the series will immediately note Activision’s use of Eminem’s Till I Collapse for the trailer, below. Till I Collapse was used for the Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 launch trailer 14 years ago.
2023’s Modern Warfare 3 includes all 16 launch maps from the original Modern Warfare 2 and will see 12 new 6v6 maps come out post-launch. The video showcases a number of these classic maps, such as the eternally popular Rust. Check out multiplayer screenshots in the slideshow below:
We also get a look at slide cancelling, which makes a return for this game. Slide cancelling is a long-running movement option in the Call of Duty series that high-skilled players use to avoid enemy fire. It involves cancelling the slide animation, thus resetting your tactical sprint and maintaining momentum even as you slide about.
Slide cancelling was in the original Warzone and 2019’s Modern Warfare, but for Warzone 2.0 and Modern Warfare 2 developer Infinity Ward stopped it from working as it used to (you can’t slide cancel out of a tactical sprint), sparking a vociferous debate among the player base. While the community came up with their own way of performing slide cancels in both games, these methods involve more inputs and are not as powerful. Modern Warfare 3 U-turns on slide cancelling, speeding up movement in the process.
The trailer also offers a glimpse at weapon stance switching for Modern Warfare 3:
Activision will host a Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 open beta across PlayStation, Xbox, and PC (PlayStation owners get first access) from this weekend. Those who preorder gain access to the campaign up to a week before release. Modern Warfare 3 launches on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X and S on November 10.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
Activision has told fans of Call of Duty’s DMZ that it intends to continue supporting the extraction mode despite it skipping the upcoming COD Next reveal event.
COD Next, set for this Thursday, October 5, will fully reveal Modern Warfare 3 and what’s next for Warzone 2.0, including its new map. But DMZ mode is not part of the show.
“Although DMZ won’t be showcased at COD Next this week, we’re excited to share that we will continue to support the DMZ Beta,” Activision said in an announcement shared this week. “Players will have continuing infiltration opportunities for Al Mazrah, Ashika Island, Vondel — as well as Building 21 and Koschei Complex.
“Thank you for your continued support and dedication to the Beta! We will share further updates closer to Season 01.”
DMZ launched last year as part of Warzone 2.0, and went down well with fans and critics. Its sandbox extraction gameplay riffed on the likes of Escape from Tarkov, and offered something a little different for Call of Duty. “It’s a really fun and refreshing change of pace between rounds of battle royale,” we said in IGN’s Warzone 2.0 review.
However, fans of DMZ have complained about a content drought this year, with some saying it lacks support compared to Modern Warfare’s traditional multiplayer and the battle royale. While this fresh statement from Activision is designed to reassure DMZ fans, it has in fact caused concern to grow. Activision’s mention of the DMZ “beta” has raised questions about its status, and whether or not DMZ will then launch proper.
This is as close we’re going to get as an admission that the mode won’t be getting any new content. Was fun whilst it lasted.
— Mr Fishy McFish – The Fish, So Far (@McfishMr) October 2, 2023
Cautiously optimistic but feel like “beta” and “support” are code for mothballing… would love to see DMZ have a bright future full of content and updates but just happy that it’s not getting unplugged 🫡
Definitely need them to clarify what support means – this post could be interpreted as just “don’t worry, we aren’t taking the mode offline or removing maps”
Summing up the sentiment, redditor Gojiwars_Goji posted Activision’s statement to the DMZ subreddit with the thread title: “IT LIVES!”
Modern Warfare 3 is set to launch with an expansive Zombies mode (it’s the first time Zombies is in a Modern Warfare game), and fans suspect this may be the focus at the expense of DMZ.
On the multiplayer side, Modern Warfare 3 includes all 16 launch maps from the original Modern Warfare 2, and will see 12 new 6v6 maps come out post-launch. Activision will host an open beta across PlayStation, Xbox, and PC (PlayStation owners get first access). Those who pre-order gain access to the campaign up to a week before release.
Modern Warfare 3 launches on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X and S on November 10.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
Saddle up, Red Dead Redemption fans: while the digital version of Red Dead Redemption is already live on Switch and PS4, physical copies of Rockstar’s iconic game are set to release October 13. You can preorder a physical copy now for Nintendo Switch and PS4. (And if you have a PS5, you can play the PS4 version no problem, as it’s backwards compatible).
Regardless of how you purchase it, not only do you get the full game, but it also comes bundled with theUndead Nightmare DLC for you to enjoy. Read on to see where it’s available in both physical and digital versions.
Red Dead Redemption For Nintendo Switch & PS4 Trailer
What is Red Dead Redemption?
For those of you who are new to the world of Red Dead Redemption, it’s a phenomenal Western adventure from Rockstar Games that follows former outlaw John Marston as he sets out on a journey to track down members of his old gang. Back when it was originally released, we gave the game a 9.7 out of 10 in our review and stated that “Rockstar has taken the Western to new heights and created one of the deepest, most fun, and most gorgeous games around. […] Red Dead Redemption is a complete game in every sense — both the single player and multiplayer modes are excellent — and still manages to offer an attention to detail you rarely see from a game of this scope.”
As some fans have complained, this new version isn’t a remake or even a remaster. It’s pretty much a straight port. And while that is disappointing — it would be great to have the whole game remade in the RDR2 engine, for instance — the original is from 2010 and still looks pretty good today.
And if you’re wondering why it’s not coming out for Xbox, well, Red Dead Redemption is already available on that platform. Xbox Series X|S owners can pick up a copy of the Xbox 360 version, either in physical or digital format, and play it via backwards compatibility right now. The Series models even upscale it to 4K, which is a pretty nice bonus.
Other Preorder Guides
If you’re curious to see even more games that are available to preorder right now, we’ve got a wide selection of preorder guides to look through below, from Super Mario Wonder to Spider-Man 2.
Naughty Dog has reportedly suffered a round of layoffs, with the troubled The Last of Us multiplayer spin-off said to be “on ice”.
The Sony-owned studio, which is home to some 400 staff, is laying off at least 25 developers, Kotaku said. Most of the people affected are quality assurance (QA) contractors who are seeing their contracts cut short. According to Kotaku, full-time staff are not affected.
Naughty Dog will reportedly not offer severance to laid off staff, who Kotaku said are expected to work until the end of October. According to the site, Naughty Dog staff “are being pressured to keep the news quiet”. IGN has asked Sony for comment.
The Last of Us multiplayer spin-off is, according to Kotaku, “basically on ice”, although is not “completely cancelled”. This tallies with a May report from Bloomberg, which said the “quality and long-term viability” of the much-anticipated The Last of Us multiplayer game had come into question, and as a result a “small group remains on the project while the company reevaluates the direction”.
“We know many of you have been looking forward to hearing more about our The Last of Us multiplayer game,” Naughty Dog said at the time. “We’re incredibly proud of the job our studio has done thus far, but as development has continued, we’ve realized what is best for the game is to give it more time.
“Our team will continue to work on the project, as well as our other games in development, including a brand new single-player experience; we look forward to sharing more soon.
“We’re grateful to our fantastic community for your support —- thank you for your passion for our games, it continues to drive us.”
We still don’t know much about The Last of Us multiplayer game, but Naughty Dog did share some concept art earlier this year, saying “the project is shaping up to be a fresh, new experience from our studio, but one rooted in Naughty Dog’s passion for delivering incredible stories, characters, and gameplay”.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
